Final WAC prep brings in breakneck Bryant

Monday, December 30 \| 6 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| Global Credit Union Arena \| Phienix, Ariz.

	BRYANT BULLDOGS (6-8)	at	GRAND CANYON LOPES (9-4)

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Grand Canyon head coach Bryce Drew and his coaching staff met the players Sunday evening for their first practice since returning to Phoenix and took on the quest of getting their attention about Bryant in 24 hours.

Inglewood, CA. Dec. 28, 2024 : The Lopes picked up its third consecutive victory with a 68-55 win over San Diego at the Intuit Dome. David Kadlubowski/GCU

Inglewood, CA. Dec. 28, 2024 : The Lopes picked up its third consecutive victory with a 68-55 win over San Diego at the Intuit Dome. David Kadlubowski/GCU

The Lopes have played in three NBA arenas and against college basketball name brands, but Bryant presents a formidable challenge in a 6 p.m. Monday game that does not match its 6-8 record.

Half of the Bulldogs' losses have been by one- or two-point margins that could have flipped their record. Their latest game was a 70-65 loss at Towson on Dec. 22, giving Bryant a full week off while GCU is coming off a Saturday win against San Diego at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.

The Bulldogs' top two players, 6-foot-6 senior guards Earl Timberlake and Rafael Pinzon, have missed two games each this season and combined to average 35.4 points for second-year head coach Phil Martelli Jr., the son of legendary St. Joseph's head coach Phil Martelli Sr.

Timberlake. a Memphis transfer with four double-doubles this season, has played 40 minutes in consecutive games and came within two assists of a triple-double against Fordham. Pinzon, a 51% 3-point shooter, has not played since suffering a groin injury Dec. 11 against St. John's, his former school. Either Timberlake or Pinzon has been out for each of Bryant's three consecutive losses.

The duo drives the nation's No. 33 scoring offense at 83.9 points per game and was part of a 20-win Bulldogs team that won at Final Four qualifier Florida Atlantic last season with the nation's 10th-lowest opponent shooting percentage (39.7%).

"This is a really good team and a really talented team," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "They average a lot of points, their pace is fast and they have a lot of weapons that score the ball. I think our players are definitely aware of how explosive they are as a team.

"This is definitely a player's game. Both systems let their players play, give them freedom and want to get up and down the court. This is a game that you want to be part of playing if you're a player."

Inglewood, CA. Dec. 28, 2024 : The Lopes picked up its third consecutive victory with a 68-55 win over San Diego at the Intuit Dome. David Kadlubowski/GCU

Converse to Bryant's skid, GCU has won three consecutive games heading into its last nonconference game before WAC action starts Saturday against Southern Utah. The most recent one came uniquely Sunday, when the Lopes shot 27.8% from the field but made 36 free throws to beat San Diego 68-55.

"As long as we're finding a way to make winning plays, that's what is most important," GCU senior power forward JaKobe Coles said. "I definitely think there is another level to us, for sure. We have many talented guys and many guys who want the best for themselves and the team. We've just got to focus on the little details.There's going to be a surprise that we didn't show early in the season that's going to come toward the end of the season. I'm excited."

The three guards in the recent starting lineup (senior Ray Harrison and sophomores Caleb Shaw and Makaih Williams) went 1 for 18 from the field on Sunday, the first game after Christmas. Coles steadied the GCU offense with 6-for-10 shooting for 18 points and 10 rebounds, his third double-double of the season.

Despite his experience at Butler (2020-21) and TCU (2021-24), Coles was quieter in the early season in deference to a team returned fifth-year players from reaching the NCAA tournament second round. But as he learns his teammates better, Coles is leading more than scoring with a career-best 14.6 points per game.

"I try to be the best teammate I can to everybody," Coles said. "I try to be a more vocal player. I'm a new player to this team, so I had to learn how guys were, how the system was ran, how the culture was here. A few times in the beginning of the year, I was quiet, not expressing my feelings and not using my leadership as I should to speak up on defense, some things on defense or some positive things to say to keep guys going. I'm starting to do that a lot more now."

Inglewood, CA. Dec. 28, 2024 : The Lopes picked up its third consecutive victory with a 68-55 win over San Diego at the Intuit Dome. David Kadlubowski/GCU

Talking on defense might involve yelling out "get back" and calling out cross matchups defensively because Bryant plays at the fifth-fastest tempo in the nation, according to kenpom.com, and runs for 13.4 fastbreak points per game.

The Lopes are seeking a fourth consecutive win but have a big-picture goal of finding another level of play to match the season's expectations.

"We're working through some things, and we'd much rather do that in the nonconference than the conference," Drew said. "We feel like we're making progress, and we're excited for this game (Monday) and conference play.

"We've played a much more demanding schedule. The travel has been more demanding. The turnarounds have been more demanding. This is our second straight game of traveling and playing a really good team with one-day prep against a team that has more time to prep against us. This is all good for us. It's exposed us to some really good teams. It has made us look at ourselves as a team and see things we could really sharpen up before conference play."

Lope tracks

GCU opponents have shot 25.2% from 3-point range over the past seven games.
The Lopes rank eighth nationally with 26.5 free throw attempts per game, an increase from last season's 25.8 average.
GCU junior center Duke Brennan has grabbed at least seven rebounds in six consecutive games and in eight of his nine appearances this season.
Bryant traveled 2,272 miles to Global Credit Union Arena to be the furthest GCU visitor from a continental U.S. college since Harvard exactly 10 years earlier.
The Rhode Island-based Bulldogs are playing their first game outside the East.
Bryant was a third-place preseason pick by America East coaches.
After ranking second in the nation with 6.5 blocks per game last season, the Bulldogs are 34th this season at 5.0 per game.

Monday, December 30 | 6 p.m. (Phoenix time) | Global Credit Union Arena | Phienix, Ariz.

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Players Mentioned

Duke Brennan

JaKobe Coles

Ray Harrison

Caleb Shaw

Makaih Williams

Grand Canyon University Athletics